Read More > Close > Notes on the Piece The beginning of the modernist movement was marked by the publication of such perverse, sensual novels as Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, as well as numerous compositions by German and Russian composers that strove for shock effects, irrespective of the norms of proper composition; rule-breaking of this sort was termed “decadent” by critics of the period. The most decadent of the decadents was the Munich-based Richard Strauss, who experimented with numerous styles during his long career. His early works are saturated with irrational harmonic combinations; they also force the orchestra to produce bizarre sounds. Salome, his third opera, merits a parental-guidance sticker. Based on an 1893 play by Wilde, it modernizes the Biblical tale of King Herod and John the Baptist. Herod has John imprisoned, an event that incurs the wrath of the people, who consider him to be a prophet.The king’s punishment takes disturbing form. His stepdaughter, the beautiful Salome, performs a sensual dance in seven parts for him on the occasion of his birthday. As her reward, she requests that John’s head be brought to her on a platter, and she makes simulated love to it.

The king is justifiably horrified by her necrophilia and orders that she be put to death. Symbolically, the tale narrates a clash between an empowered, “modern” woman and the male order she explicitly threatens. The appalling subject matter is matched by Strauss’s 1903–1905 score, which was briefly banned from performance. Gustav Mahler sought to conduct the premiere in 1905 in Vienna, but he was refused on account of the opera’s sadomasochism. The premiere instead took place in 1905 in the much more liberal city of Dresden. Strauss’s decadent self-indulgences include a huge orchestra used for the representation of emotional extremes, passages in which two different keys are juxtaposed, and dissonances that find no explanation in the rule books. Within the first minute, the opening key of the opera, C-sharp minor, is abandoned for C-sharp major and a series of baffling sounds that represent Salome’s loveliness on the one hand, her morbid side on the other.

(She is likened to the pale moon as well as a ghost rising from a tomb.) A sickening motif heard at the very beginning becomes associated with her, but cannot be pinned down; rather, it shape-shifts—fickle and capricious, like the woman the music represents. Elektra, Opera by R. Strauss - Vienna State Opera - 19.06.2017 Mon - Vienna Opera Tickets - Opera - Premiere Vienna Opera Tickets 26.06.2017 Mon Elektra, Opera by R. Strauss Premiered in Dresden in 1909, Elektra is a breathtaking collaboration between the German composer, Richard Strauss, and Hugo von Hofmannsthal, who wrote the libretto based on his own 1903 drama adapted from Sophocles’ Greek tragedy. In Elektra, the eponymous heroine seeks vengeance for her father, Agamemnon, murdered by her own mother, Klytämnestra, and her lover, Ägisth.

She attempts to entice her younger sister, Chrysothemis, into helping her to kill Klytämnestra and Ägisth, but Chrysothemis refuses to play any part in her sibling's plans. Only when she is reconciled with their brother Orest, whom she had given up for dead, is the deed done when Orest slays them both, Klytämnestra and Ägisth. The course of events however has been too much for Elektra who is overcome by her emotions and dies while in the throes of ecstasy. The works of Richard Strauss are some of the most compelling in the classical repertoire. Possibly because of his long life and a career that spanned the late romantic and early modern periods, he was as comfortable with writing diatonic harmony as he was in exploring the possibilities offered by the use of dissonance and chromaticism that was to revolutionise 20th century music. In his previous opera, Salome, Strauss combined the familiar melodic lines of the western tradition with the unsettling effects of the increasingly atonal approach to composition, to great dramatic effect. Following his success with Salome, Strauss doubtless felt that he could push the boundaries further still.

In Elektra, the composer exploits very different musical styles to set up a series of unforeseen jolts and clashes that perfectly contrast the characters' emotional states while underpinning the violence of the story. Opera Review: Richard Strauss's Salome and Elektra on the 150th anniversary year | Theatre | Entertainment | Daily Express 15:48, Sun, Sep 7, 2014 Strauss' brilliant Salome was banned in Vienna because of its 'sexual pathology'[CHRIS.CHRISTODOULOU] Richard Strauss's SALOME ***** Richard Strauss's ELEKTRA ***** Proms 58 & 59 Royal Albert Hall London SW7 (bbc.co.uk/Proms; 0845 401 5040) It was smart planning by the Proms to schedule the operas on successive nights, as the culmination of Strauss's 150th anniversary year. Based on Oscar Wilde's play and the Biblical story, Salome has been creating a sensation on the grounds of immorality since its premiere in 1905. Vienna Court Opera banned a performance because its events "belong to the realm of sexual pathology".

Even today it is pretty strong stuff. Salome, growing up in the decadent court of Herod, is obsessed by the forbiddingly chaste John the Baptist. When he rebuffs her advances, she traps her besotted stepfather Herod into ordering the beheading of the prophet, so she can kiss the lips of the man who has rejected her. Stagings, such as David McVicar's for Covent Garden, make much of the horror but Deutsche Oper Berlin's semi-staged concert performance proves you do not need buckets of blood and a severed head to keep the audience riveted; just the words and the music. Strauss described his ideal Salome as "a 16-year-old with the voice of Isolde". Swedish soprano Nina Stemme is an acclaimed Wagnerian singer whose Isolde is second to none. She also has the acting ability, at 51, to get into the skin of a teenage Jewish princess. In shimmering black dress and with hair worn loose, she caught the character of petulant spoilt brat mingled with corrupted innocent.

There was no dance of the seven veils, only its seductive music, and no Baptist's head but the ecstatic voice of Stemme's Salome said it all. A memorable evening, with a standing ovation at the end Mezzo Doris Soffel's imperious Herodias teamed splendidly with the vacillating Herod of tenor Burkhard Ulrich. Bass-baritone Samuel Youn as Jokanaan (John the Baptist) thundered at the adulterous couple from the organ platform above. The orchestra's lustrous playing under conductor Donald Runnicles brought out both the harshness and lyrical romanticism of the score. A memorable evening, with a standing ovation at the end. The BBC Symphony Orchestra under conductor Semyon Bychkov brought us Elektra, Strauss's other opera about a dysfunctional family, with American soprano Christine Goerke as the difficult daughter. Based on the Sophocles play with libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, we are in the House of King Agamemnon at Mycenae where "the stairs are slippery with blood".

Elektra, cast out after her mother Clytemnestra and lover Aegisthus have murdered Agamemnon, plots to avenge her father's death. No stage props are needed here either, as words and music conjure up the oppressive house of death. Elektra is on stage throughout the two-hour opera that runs without an interval and Goerke's stamina is amazing. She never faltered as she furiously denounced Clytemnestra and Aegisthus and harassed younger sister Chrysothemis, who yearns only for a normal life rather than a blood vendetta. Dame Felicity Palmer's Clytemnestra is scarily deranged. Bedecked in jewels and prey to nightmares, she is haunted by the thought that her exiled son Orestes will return to avenge his father. Johan Reuter as Orestes was low-key in comparison but effectively lethal. Bychkov's conducting of the orchestra was tautly controlled, unleashing the full volume during climactic scenes and captured the score's exquisite fusion of harsh atonality, clashing brass and glimpses of a melting pre-Rosenkavalier waltz.

Related articles Strauss Operas in New York: Elektra, Salome, Die �gyptische Helena Strauss Operas in New York: Elektra, Salome, Die �gyptische Helena On the Aisle Richard Strauss fans had plenty to chose from in New York this autumn, with Elektra at the Metropolitan Opera, Salome at the New York City Opera, and Die �gyptische Helena performed in concert by the American Symphony Orchestra at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center. About the only thing these three offerings had in common was good intentions and qualified success. The Metropolitan Opera�s 1992 Otto Schenk production of Elektra (seen Sept. 25, 2002) takes place before the vast, brightly-lit, sandstone coloured wall of the palace of the Atreus family. All the action takes place in front of this wall: here Elektra squabbles with the serving maids, confronts her sister Chrysothemis, banters with her mother Klyt�mnestra, and recognizes her brother Orest.

Whereas most Elektra productions are dark and gloomy, Schenk has chosen a sunny, yellowish Mediterranean effect, perhaps alluding to the prehistoric Greek rain goddess Elektra, the personification of the amber colouring of clouds. This set is much too bright for Strauss�s tale of hidden motives, mistaken identity, and criminal concealment. This opera stands or - as in this case - falls by its eponymous heroine. Soprano Deborah Polaski (photo left) in her Met role debut sounded oddly unfocused and overparted. Vocally her lyric instrument was hard-pressed to encompass Elektra�s extreme ravings. Her high notes were feeble, her chest tones modest. As an actress she seemed cautious and tired. Elektra�s climactic dance amounted to little more than some uncoordinated stamping. Karita Mattila�s Chrysothemis had all the energy and intensity Polaski�s Elektra lacked. The Finnish soprano easily rode the orchestra and produced the evening�s best Straussian sound, including some moments of spine-tingling intensity. Traditionally, Klyt�mnestra is played as a raddled but terrifying old crone.

So-called contralto Marjana Lipovsek, sounding like a mezzo and looking young enough to be Elektra�s sister, was altogether too polite and sane. Alan Held�s Orest and Wolfgang Neumann�s Aegisth were serviceable. The Met orchestra�s impressive if slow playing for James Levine only served to underline the weaknesses of the cast, who seemed intimidated by the score rather than inspired by it. Salome at the New York City Opera (seen Oct. 5, 2002) elicited inappropriate laughter from the audience and mixed reviews from local critics. Tim Goodchild�s production seemed inspired by the fin-de-siecle decadence roughly contemporaneous with composer Strauss�s early years and librettist Wilde�s later years. Industrial metal catwalks, a spiral staircase, and palm trees were set in a Crystal Palace atrium under a full moon. Costumes mixed Arab robes and army fatigues. Salome wore a bejewelled, pearly-white, Gustave Moreau-inspired gown.

Young, agile, and pretty, soprano Eilana Lappalainen (photo left) was an energetic and well-intentioned Salome who - unlike many portlier singers - did her own Dance of the Seven Veils right down to a flesh-coloured body suit. But her tweaked out, frantic movement throughout the opera turned Salome into a sort of coked-up Judean Kitten with a Whip. The frenetic activity paradoxically undermined her dramatic purpose. We waited in vain for the telling gestures which create and project a memorable character. In contrast to the directorial overkill, her voice was weak and her diction was mushy. Despite the City Opera�s �sound enhancement� system, Lappalainen was frequently inaudible. Baritone Mark Delavan was a butch Jochanaan with long rock-star hair exactly matching Salome�s wig. Richard Berkeley-Steele was a youngish Herod who made little of the character�s demented ravings. Linda Roark Strummer was a strong-voiced, dramatically neutral Herodias who struck a pose holding her wine cup and held it for most of the opera. The executioner, as usual, was a buff black body builder.

George Manahan led the New York City Opera Orchestra in a tolerable reading of the score. Critics were not kind. New York Magazine's Peter Davis called Lappalainen's voice "by far the most excruciatingly ugly sound I've heard in the role since I first saw the opera 50 years ago." Bernheimer of the Financial Times judged she "overacted and undersang." The New York Times concluded "her voice simply lacked the dramatic heft to bring off the role [...] a case of overacting to compensate for vocal deficiency." James Jorden (Parterre Box, Gay City News) wrote that Lappalainen "twitched and staggered and scampered and writhed like a drag queen on crystal meth." Newsday's Justin Davidson disagreed with his colleagues, declaring Lappalainen "a major discovery:" Strauss�s Die �gyptische Helena (The Egyptian Helen, seen Oct. 6, 2002) was performed in a concert version by the American Symphony Orchestra (ASO) at Lincoln Center�s Avery Fisher Hall.The ASO presented this same work a few years ago but they revived it this year with an improved cast to record (presumably for Telarc).

Not one of Strauss�s most integrated works, Die �gyptische Helena is a rambling pastiche of the composer�s greatest hits. Hugo von Hofmannsthal�s libretto is an impenetrable opium dream of Arabian Nights fantasies grafted onto Homer and Euripides. The strong cast was lead by soprano Deborah Voigt (photo left), America�s reigning Strauss soprano, in the title role of Helen of Troy. Dressed in a voluminous blue gown with a silvery wrap, she deployed a full luscious sound that rode Strauss�s fearsome orchestration easily, save for a few moments of fatigue and a strangely inert "Zweite Brautnacht.� As her husband Menelaus tenor Carl Tanner did his best with the impossibly long and high part. Soprano Celena Shafer was a pert, silver-voiced sorceress Aithra. Hidden in an upper balcony, mezzo Jill Grove gave a molluscular reading of the Omniscient Seashell or Mussel (aka. the All-Knowing Clam). Christopher Robertson and Eric Cutler ably filled out the cast.

Music Director Leon Botstein led the ASO in a competent though not magical reading of Strauss�s loud, rambling, eclectic score. The Concert Chorale of New York provided the massed voices of eunuchs and elves. If the orchestral levels are re-balanced and a few vocal parts patched up, the recording could be interesting. Critics praised Voigt. The New York Times wrote that "[she] sounded splendid, singing with full, free, luminous sound, excellent diction, lovely shadings and plenty of power." The Financial Times added "[she] dispatched the protagonist's lush cantilena with the vibrancy of an incipient Isolde." But Maestro Botstein was dished by the New York Times: "the playing lacked clarity, nuance, texture and effective balances. Too often the orchestra just kept grinding away too loudly." Salome - Modernism Lab Essays Salome by Elizabeth Pugh Salome by Richard Strauss is an operatic retelling of the Biblical story of John the Baptist’s martyrdom, which focuses on the daughter of Herodias. Her strange fascination with John the Baptist ultimately leads to the demise of her and her father in this tragic opera.

Strauss based his opera on the one-act play written by Oscar Wilde in 1884. [1] Salome debuted in early December 1905 in Dresden, German. The score for the opera made modernist strides through the use of unique instruments and dissonance, and the story created controversy among music and theater critics. Summary of the Work Salome, the mystical daughter of Queen Herodias and step-daughter of King Herod, is entranced by John the Baptist, because of his prophesies that she hears echoing up through the floor as well as his dislike for her mother. Later, her fascination with him attaches to his appearance. Narraboth, the captain of the guard who is infatuated with Salome, orders that he be brought up to the great dismay of the Page and contrary to his orders after Salome pleads with him. [2] When he refuses to let her come near him, her obsession escalates, and she becomes determined to have him (69-114). She does not take notice when Narraboth kills himself, but instead continues in her pursuit of John the Baptist (102).

John’s rejection and retreat into the cistern lead her to revenge. Herod struggles with many different conflicts throughout the opera, as he fears and admires John, resents his wife and the constant bickering of the religious officials who surround him, and obsesses over his step-daughter. Salome, knowing these varying pressures, takes advantage of the situation. She twists the king’s fixation with her by using a dance (the “Dance of the Seven Veils”) to get what she wants: the head of John the Baptist on a platter, with which she can do whatever she desires without John’s protests (142-350). Terrified and scandalized by such behavior, King Herod orders her death (351). Biblical and Legendary Background In the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, the story of John’s death is written similarly, though the Gospel of Mark has more details as to the specific circumstances, such as how Herod felt about John (Matt 14:3-12; Mk 6: 17-29). Curiously enough, neither Gospel ever mentions the daughter of Herodias by name.

In early commentaries, both this character was called Herodias until she was given the name Salome by Isidor of Seville, due to the name's repeated occurrence in Herod’s family line. [3] Salome has also been known as Boyzia and Pharaildis in different legends as well. [4] The works of Strauss and Wilde are not alone in their interpretation of Salome’s strange attraction to John the Baptist. In one particular legend, Salome “vows not to belong to anyone but John, and her infuriated father has him decapitated." [5] This particular legend differs from the Biblical story in several key details, such as the fascination felt by Herod and the bitterness felt by his wife (Herodias) toward John the Baptist. Strauss’ Musical Strides in the Opera Described as “thunder,” “noise,” and “orchestral cacophony,” Strauss’ music in Salome managed to shock the audience, which had never before heard this type of music on stage or perhaps even in their lives.

[6] Quite complex, the arrangement includes forty-nine instrument and voice parts weaving with each other to create a score that changed the scene of opera, compared to much smaller numbers of parts within its predecessors. [7] The dissonance, bitonality, and even effects created by the orchestra all help to create the feelings expressed in the opera. from terror to infatuation. [8] For example, the mystical quality of the music matches that quality of John the Baptist as he emerges from the cistern. These concepts like bitonality would have been unheard of in an opera before Salome, indicating that Strauss turned towards modernity by leaving the older models of opera behind in favor of trying something new. Strauss even brought in strange instruments that were rarely used in operatic or orchestral works before, such as the heckelphone and even kettledrums. The use of these instruments shows a departure in Strauss’ mind from the traditional concept of what an orchestra should be, and consequently another modernist leaning.

It also shocked with its dance scene, the “Dance of the Seven Veils," which brought in oriental elements in a dramatic shift from the traditional, as well as from the other parts of the opera (202-241). One critic railed that the opera “rattled and banged until the emotions are worn out; it no longer wants anything but explosions, and the dynamics of these has no effect but that of dynamite." [9] Analysis Throughout the opera, there are some interesting sections that could use further investigation by the viewer. One example of this is Salome’s obsession with John the Baptist. After he initially rejects her, she begins to admire just parts of him, showing an objectification of John as she sings to his mouth, his skin, etc (69-114). In light of this objectification, his beheading can be more clearly understood. She could not have all of John while he was living, so she wanted him dead.

She has, as Paul Banks writes, “no interest in him as a prophet." [10] His beheading furthers this theme of objectification: even in his martyrdom, she only has a part of John the Baptist with which to do her bidding. Another interesting idea that both Strauss and Wilde bring forth is that Salome acts in John’s death of her own will and pleasure. This reading diverges from the Biblical interpretation, in which she acted more as her mother’s pawn or in revenge for things John said about her mother. Strauss's portrayal, deemed one of “demonic feminine sexuality” by Banks, placed Salome in a femme fatale position. The men who are involved with her (Narraboth, John, and Herod) all meet tragedy in one way or another. She herself meets her demise after her obsession escalates to a point beyond what the society of her time deems appropriate and Herod orders her death. Repeatedly, this theme of obsession comes forward, and each time it leads to the character’s destruction. For instance, the character of Narraboth is infatuated with Salome, and even allows the guards to bring up John the Baptist at her request (against his own orders).

Yet as she grows more obsessed with John, Narraboth’s warnings and pleadings to her go unheeded. He kills himself in despair of her lack of attention to him and the danger she is in. Controversy and Backlash Even before this opera was staged, it was controversial. The original play by Wilde did not make it to opening night in England because “a license for its production was refused by the Lord Chamberlain’s office." [11] The cast of the opera also had some scruples due to the material, especially their roles within it. The actress playing Salome in the production reportedly cried “That I won’t do; I am a respectable woman”! [12] Because of the controversial nature of the subject matter with Biblical characters, such as suicide and necrophilia as well as the sexual nature of the material, like the obsession of Herod with his step-daughter and a femme fatale in the character of Salome, the opera was widely denounced by clergy and those of conservative values. [13] This opera clearly contrasted with the cultural and traditional ideals of Strauss’ time. The cast’s trouble with the material shows how provocative these portrayals are.

The opera raises crucial questions involved in the taboo topics of obsession, revenge, necrophilia, incest, and suicide, questions that society cannot ignore. It also shows a dissent for religious authority, as can be seen through the ever-bickering religious figures, repudiating that traditional value of following dogma and doctrine. [14] The opera premiered just as Biblical criticism was emerging, which was not embraced in its early stages by church authority (in the broadest sense), but instead was seen as modernist encroachment upon faith. Because of this, any questioning of Biblical characters (their motives, their stories, etc.) by the modernist movement especially would have been seen as a particular danger, which explains the protests and denunciations. Conclusion Through its innovative use of themes, music, and reinterpretation, Strauss’ Salome managed to shock audiences with its modernist way of departing from and questioning the traditional cultural values of its day. Refusing to be still, it rouses the audience to think about how they see the world through music and taboo issues to this day. ↑ Ernest Newman, "Salome," in Great Operas, vol. 1. 1943 (New York: Vintage, 1959), p.

372. ↑ Richard Strauss, Salome [1905] (Berlin: Adolph Fürstner, 1916), 5, 37-48. All subsequent parenthetical citations refer to this edition. ↑ Herbert Haag et al., "Herodias and Salome," in Great Women of the Bible in Art and Literature, ed. Emil Bührer, trans. Joe H Kirchberger (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1994), p. 256. ↑ Ibid. ↑ Ibid. ↑ Petra Dierkes-Thrun, "'The Brutal Music and the Delicate Text'? The Aesthetic Relationship between Wilde's and Strauss's Salome Reconsidered," Modern Language Quarterly 69.3 (2008), p. 376. ↑ Ibid., p. 376. ↑ Ibid., p. 377. ↑ Dierkes-Thrun, p. 378. ↑ Paul Banks, “Richard Strauss and the Unveiling of Salome," in Salome/ Elektra, ed. Nicholas John (New York: Riverrun, 1988), p.

19. ↑ Newman, p. 372. Elektra, opera, Op. 58 (TrV 223) | Details | AllMusic AllMusic Elektra, opera, Op. 58 (TrV 223) Share this page google+ Description by Roy Brewer Coming immediately after his one-act shocker, Salome (1905), Elektra (1909) took Richard Strauss further into a musical world that stood in bleak contrast to nineteenth century Romantic opera. This tale of multiple murder and bitter vengeance also proved crucial to Strauss' later development as a composer of opera, since it marked the beginning of his collaboration with the young Viennese poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal , whose German translation of Sophocles' Greek tragedy originally inspired Strauss to take up the subject, and with whom he would craft his most lasting masterpieces. The story is simple. Elektra is mourning the death of her father Agamemnon, murdered by her mother, Klytemnestra. She tries to persuade her sister Chrysothemis to help her avenge his death.

Their brother Orestes, whom they feared dead, returns home and is persuaded to kill both Klytemnestra and her lover, Aegisthus. ("Very unlike" -- as one English nobleman is supposed to have remarked after seeing the opera -- "the home life of our own dear Queen.") As with his setting of Oscar Wilde 's Salome, Strauss' Elektra is not merely an adaptation for musical purposes, but a "play set to music." As in Sophocles' original, the climax of the opera is not the murder of Klytemnestra and Aegisthus, but the tense relationship that develops between Elektra and Orestes as she incites him to action. Strauss always favored the soprano voice and, in a cast of 14, indulged himself in no fewer than six, in both major and minor roles. The subliminal effect of this high tessitura, together with lavish orchestration and a certain amount of atonality, is to intensify the psychological conflicts that emerge as Elektra pursues her vengeful plan.

"The struggle between words and music has been the problem of my life right from the beginning" wrote Strauss in a letter to the famous Wagner singer Ernestine Schumann-Heink , who sang Klytemnestra at the first performance. If Elektra wins that hidden struggle it is through the sheer power and conviction of the music. Aside from their somewhat scandalous subject matter, there are few similarities between Elektra and Salome. As von Hofmannsthal wrote, "In Salome much is, so to speak, in purple and violet. In Elektra...it is a mixture of night and light, or black and bright." The events leading up to Orestes' deed are not matched by anything corresponding, or even faintly similar, to those in Salome and lead to "victory and purification -- a sequence I can imagine as being much more powerful in music than in the written word." The first night was not a success.

The critic Julius Korngold sarcastically wrote "How beautiful was the Princess Salome tonight!" Strauss riposted "When a mother is slain on stage do they expect me to write a violin concerto?" Following its presentation at Covent Garden the English critic Bernard Newman wrote of "a strain of coarseness and thoughtlessness" in Strauss which persuaded him to "take up so crude a perversion of the old Greek story as that of Hugo von Hofmannsthal ," and Bernard Shaw asked "Is there [anywhere] such an atmosphere of malignant and cancerous evil as we get here?" Inexplicably the first New York performance in 1932 was in French. Yet in many ways Elektra is Strauss' most successful opera, though not his most popular. Its one-act structure leads to a concise, relentless and fast-developing drama of a sort not conspicuous in the composer's more Romantic works. Parts/Movements Wo bleibt Ekektra? Ist doch ihre Stunde Allein! Weh, ganz allein Ich kann nicht sitzen und ins Dunkel starren Es geht ein Lärm los Was willst du? Steht doch, dort! Die Gotter!

bist doch selber eine Göttlin Ich will nichts hören! Ich hab keine guten Nächte Wenn das rechte Blutopfer Was sagen sie ihr denn? Orest! Orest ist tot! Platz da! Wer lungert so vor einer Tür? Nun muss es hier von uns geschehn Du! Du! denn du bist stark! Nun denn, allein! Was willst du, fremder Mensch? Elektra! Elektra Du wirst es tun? Allein? Seid ihr von Sinnen Ich habe ihm das Beil nicht geben können! Es muss etwas geschehen sein He! Lichter Licther! Ist niemand da Elektra, Schwester! Hörst du denn nicht, sie tragen ihn Schweig, und tanze SALOM� Salom� The story of Salome appears in the bible in Matthew 14:1-11 Luke 3:19-20 A note on pronunciation The name "Salome" in English is much like the word salami, but with the second "a" read as "oh" The stress is on the second syllable.

So it sounds something like sa l�w me In German, the name Salome is read Zahlome, with the stress on the first syllable. The Oscar Wilde play, Salom�, written in French, has an accent on the final "�" and the name is usually pronounced with the French pronunciation, which is like the German except that the first sound is "s" rather than "z". So we have the French Salome (s�hlomay - accent on the first syllable) German: Z�hlomay English: Sa l�w me The composer of the opera is Richard Strauss who also wrote Also Sprach Zarathustra, the music which opens the Stanley Kubrick film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Traditionally author's names are read (pronounced) as they themselves would have pronounced them (as are works titled in a foreign language). Rivhard is read as "reheart" (the "ee" as in "see", the "h' and in "hue") and Strauss is read "shtraus" (in German "s" at the start of a word is read "z" before vowels and "sh" before consonants).

So Richard Strauss becomes "reehart shtrauss". Although one of the most famous women in The Bible, her name does not appear in any of the texts. There is a Salome who is the wife of Zebedee and the mother of the apostles James and John. Kinship Herod is a kind of family name, so there are many Herods. Herod the Great, and the one who is responsible for the "Slaughter of the Innocents' - the kllling of all the small children in order to get rid of the prophisized coming of Christ. Herod the Great has a number of sons by a variety of wives: Antipas, Alexander, Aristobuus, and Philip (all of whom would have been called Herod also). Antipas is the one involved in the Salome story. There is a great deal of kinship Antipas half brother Aristobus is the father of Herodias. Herodias marries another of Antipas' brothers, the daughter of Miriamne. This Herod and Herodias have a daughter named Salome.

Herodias has in fact married her uncle and winds up married to Antipas - another uncle after Antipas arrest and perhaps kills her husband! Yikes! No wonder John the Baptist was upset! See the Herod family tree The Biblical Story The story of Salome appears in a few brief verses in the Bible in which she is simply referred to as the "daughter of Herodias". Salome dances for Herod's birthday and asks for the head of John as a reward, This is apparently done at her mother's instigation and Salome gives the head to her mother It seems clear that Herod enjoyed talking to John and was uspest at having to kill him The Films There are a number of versions of the story filmed, two are rather famous. One was made by the actress Nazimoa in 1923; the other stars Rita Hayworth and was made in 1953. Two versions of the opera have also been released on DVD, one released in 1997 with Catherine Malfitano as Salome, the other with Maria Ewing. There are also scenes of Salome in several of the films we have seen so far - Geratest Story Ever Told and The Gospel According to St.

Matthew so its role in the New Testament narrative should be at least vaguely familiar to you. Oscar Wilde's Play Oscar Wilde is considerd by many one of the greatest writers of the Victorian period. He wrote one novel - The Picture of Dorian Gray, but several plays including A Woman of No Importance, The Importance of Being Ernest, Lady Windemere's Fan and most importantly for our purposes Salome. Wilde seems to have discoveed something of homosexual nature early in his life and married in the hopes of freeing himself from it. He married and had two children. He was also engaged in a long homosexual relationship which ultimately resulted in his being jailed in 1895 for 2 years at hard labor. AFter his release he wrote The Ballad of Reading Gaol, a poem about his incarceration. He died in 1900 without producing any strong works other than the poem. Oscar Wilde clearly enlarges the story turning it into a jolting one act drama. It is set on a terrace outisde of Herod's palace. Herod is the Tetrach of Jusea. There is a well, or cistern visible and it is in this that John the Baptist is beig held prisoner.

Soldiers guard the place. Herod is giving a party with many many people from different parts of the kingdom Salome dances for Herod on his borthday and as a reward she asks for the head of John the Bapitist, which she gets and gives to her mother gets the head of John the Baptist as a reward. The dance is generally held to be the Dance of the Seven Veils, a kind of early strip tease dance. the play is rooted in some very short verses in the Bible, the story has become enormously famous in that . Salome is supposed to be about 15 years old - that is about the time of a young woman discovering her own sexuality. Some writers have felt that Salome is meant to represent Wilde himself. If nothing else the play is about obsession and unrequited love. A young Page in the court dotes on Narraboth one of the soldiers who is obsessed with Salome as is Herod. Salome returns neither of their advances, but is obsessed with John the Baptist who does not return her affections, but loves only God. There is a great deal of imagery in the text - especially about the moon which each character comments on when entering the scene.

Herod is preoccupied with omens which his more practical wife sees little other than what is there. There are parallels between the moon imagery and Salome. Originally written in French for Sarah Bernhardt, a famous actress. He said the words must fall like pearls on a plate of silver. Some of the Wilde text is quoted in the film King of Kings. Why would Wilde have picked this story? Film Versions There are several film versions that deal with the character of Salome. There is a silent film version with Nazimova, several versions of the Strauss opera (all of whcih use the Oscar Wilde text) and a sound version with Rita Hayworth.. The character of Salome also occurs in some of the other films which include the death of John the Baptist within a larger text as occurs, for example in The Greatest Story Ever Told. Minor character made leading character; How do you build the story? Need to create new characters: Often love interest needed and characters who need to be converted and who converts. It is also interesting to note that Salome is the film script that Norma Desmond is writing in Sunset Blvd.

and you can hear the citation of the Strauss opera as Norma descends the stairs in one of the climactic moments in the film The long tremolo which destabilizes the final moments of the opera as Salome's mind goes, are duplicated in Steiner score for Sunset Blvd. AFTER THE FILMS Nazimova Version Nazimova was the aunt of Val Lewton (Cat People) and other famous horror films. Born in Russia, she came to the US later in life than her nephew. She made a series of silent films many of which were not well recieved by made Camille which received good notices. She and Valentino wanted to got o Europe where they felt actors were respeced. Although she did not go, she decided to produce some "art films" which include this version of Salome Nazimova was the aunt of the famous producer director Val Lewton. She was 40 years old when she made the film. The film was remarkably expensive and a dismal failure in many ways It has been rumored that the entire cast of the production was gay, but this seems clearly not to have been the case. The Nazimova version, although silent, uses inter-title cards from the Wilde play.

The famous Beardsley drawings for the publication of the text are used as the basis for the sets and costumes of the Nazimova version. Rita Hayworth Version The Rita Hayworth version, written by Jesse Lasky is a masterpiece of confusion in which Salome dances to save John the Baptist making one wonder whether anyone bothered to read the book! Longinus converts from John the Baptist (what religion is John the Bapstist? Does he seem like a Christian? Is he Jewish? What does this say about de-ethnicizing the Jews in New Testament films?) but the usual approach is to have a woman who converts a man. In this film there is a reversal in which a woman is converted by man. In most of the biblical epics (especially those of our "classs ii" variety where Christ appears in a story not found in The Bible, women generally convert men, thus keeping with the feminizing principles usually evident in the religion. This film is often noted for its use of color and design. What can you say about that? Operatic Versions Filming Opera Opera has a tendency to go "relevant" in its staging and frequently the entire mise en scene gets rather peculiar in an attempt to make it "relevant".

So, like Shakespeare, various operas have not only been performed with, but also filmed with a variety of singers in a variety of productions. The performances of opera that are released are often nothing more than stage performances that have been filmed, rather than versions which are taken out of the theater and opened up into a film, The problems of filming performances pieces written for the stage is often complicated by the problems of keeping the film not to feel "stagey". Films like Deathtrap, The Man Who Came to Dinner feel very much like the film makers have simply filmed a staged version. Other films like Robert Wise's brilliant West Side Story break completely clear of the feeling of being "on stage". Opera is often unlike other musical films, sung throughout (durchcomponiert or "through composed"). Unlike many musicals where people break into song, which raises serious questions about whether other characters are supposed regard them as singing or speaking since there is a contrast between the two in the films themselves, in opera, the basically durchcompaniert aspect of most operas does not raise this question since passages which are sung do NOT contrast with those that do not, Finally there is the question of how to film the singers.

Operatic orchestras are frequently quite large and the effort it takes (un-miked) to be heard over some of the amount of sound the orchestra is producing is enormous, Frequently it causes blood vessels on the face and neck to stand out and distortion of the face in general. One option is to record the sound track and then have the singers lip synch their own voices without the effort to avoid the distortion. Some others feel that filming the actual singing with its concomitant facial distortions is a part of the singing process and should look like people are really singing. In directing both staged and filmed versions of opera, the directors must take a back seat to the composer, who allots only a certain amount of time before the singers have to sing the next lines. Hence directors may not have time to move performers around (no time or too much time) Consider in this film the amount of time that the music plays when John the Baptist comes out of and returns to the cistern. There is no way to alter that and still keep the opera intact, Richard Strauss'Salom� The Strauss Opera The Richard Strauss opera premiered in 1905 in Dresden.

It was Strauss' third opera (Gutrun and Feuersnot, two operas rarely performed any more, preeded it). Richard Strauss (1864-1949) wrote Salom� from 1904-505 when Strauss was 41 years old, It was considered something of a "shocker", in part because of the depravity of the text as a vehicle for an opera, and ins infamous final scene. It was, and remains, an extremely difficult piece to sing requiring enormous "staying power" on the part of the lead singer. At its premiere one critic wrote "it mixes the smell of perfume and decay". Straiss resolved to write a comedy after that, but instead wrote Elektra, and opera based on the Hugo von Hoffmansthal's adaptation of the Sophocles play of the same name. The same critic wrote of that opera "It is a lot like Salome only the perfume is gone and the decay has become decomposition".

When the opera was performed for the first time in Boston it was considered such a scandal that it was banned for over 30 years, citing a law which prohibited the portraying of biblical characters on stage, As operas go, it is short (about 90 minutes) intense, difficult, frequently discordant and powerful. The famous Dance of the Seven Veils a kind of early strip tease is one of the more famous moments in the opera and like the Bacchanal from Samson and Delilah often performed by iteslef. Srauss himself seems to have thought the opera might not survive (it has) but that the dance music might remain as a concern piece. As a result it has its own set of rehearsal numbers (letters, rather than numbers) The Nazimova version and the Strauss version both use a text by Oscar Wilde Related films: A Man of No Importance Some Suggested Readings Lamerth, Gavin 1997 Nazimova Alfred A. Knopf, NY 420 pp.

Lasky, Jesse Hollywood Bablylon Salome and Elektra - Richard Strauss, John Nicholas - Häftad (9780714544380) | Bokus Salome and Elektra Pris: 128:- Den hï¿½r utgï¿½van av boken ï¿½r tillfï¿½lligt slut Klicka "Bevaka" nedan fï¿½r att fï¿½ ett mejl sï¿½ fort boken gï¿½r att kï¿½pa igen. Spara som favorit Richard Strauss, already known for his wonderful orchestral tone-poems, turned his genius to opera at the turn of the twentieth century, and this guide contains the texts and introductions to his first two masterpieces in what was, for him, a new genre. Despite obvious similarities - both operas consisting of one act, centred upon one female title role - the works are quite different in subject and treatment, as revealed by the introductory essays.

Salome, based on Oscar Wilde's notorious play, has a kaleidoscopic range of orchestral colour and a lurid climax in 'The Dance of the Seven Veils' - an episode which has challenged generations of sopranos to dance as well as sing. Elektra, derived from the myths and tragedies of the ancient Greeks, is the first of Hugo von Hofmannsthal's many collaborations with Strauss. It is also a study in neurosis, ripe for Jungian comparative analysis. (Bookdata)

Question: Who wrote the operas Salome and Elektra?
Answer: Richard Strauss